The present invention relates to a docking unit for a portable computer on which is mounted a portable computer to expand its various functions, and in particular, relates to a docking unit for a portable computer that can adequately prevent the main body of the docking unit and a portable computer mounted thereon from being stolen. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a docking unit for a portable computer that provides an adequate security function relative to the environments in which it is used, in a xe2x80x9csingle user mode,xe2x80x9d during which the docking unit is employed by only one user, and in a xe2x80x9cmulti-user mode,xe2x80x9d during which the docking unit is shared by a plurality of users.
As a consequence of recent technical developments, various types of personal computers (PC), such as desktop, tower and notebook types, are being manufactured and sold. Generally, desktop and tower computers are designed to be used on desks or tables in offices and in homes; whereas notebook computers, for which portability is a design consideration, are designed to be operated by batteries in a mobile environment.
Notebook PC and Docking Station
Since it is important that a notebook PC be light and compact, inside one there is no extra space for the installation of expansion adaptor cards and peripheral devices. Further, relying on only a PC card to provide for the expansion of the periphery of a notebook PC is inadequate. And although portability is an important feature of notebook PCs, it is often necessary for a cable (a printer cable, a monitor cable, or a communication cable) to be connected to and disconnected from a notebook computer between office use and mobile use, so that its employment involves some very complicated work and its usability is deteriorated.
A xe2x80x9cdocking stationxe2x80x9d (also called an xe2x80x9cexpansion boxxe2x80x9d or an xe2x80x9cexpansion unitxe2x80x9d) provides for a notebook computer the same work environment as that provided by a desktop or a tower PC when the notebook computer is to be used in an office, while at the same time not deteriorating from the portability of the notebook PC. The main functions of the docking station are two: xe2x80x9cport replicationxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbus expansion.xe2x80x9d A port replication is implemented by providing connection ports for a notebook PC on the docking station. That is, if peripheral devices are connected in advance to the ports on the docking station, a user need only mount his or her notebook PC on the docking station and immediately can use a printer, an external monitor, an external keyboard and a network. When a user desires to transport a notebook PC, he or she need simply remove it from the docking station, leaving all the cables connected to the docking station. Since the port replication function of the docking station collectively manages the cable connections, this function is also called a xe2x80x9ccable management function.xe2x80x9d The bus expansion function is implemented by the docking station expanding an input/output bus (or the local bus) of the notebook PC or by providing a bus slot on the docking station. In other words, while an expansion adaptor card or peripheral devices can not be attached to the notebook PC, these devices can be used through the docking station. A docking station that provides only port replication may be called a xe2x80x9cport replicatorxe2x80x9d.
In FIG. 11 is shown a typically styled notebook PC 100 and a docking station 200. The notebook PC 100 has a docking connector (not shown) on its rear face. The docking connector normally includes several tens to several hundreds of connector pins. Each connector pin is allocated for a port signal or a bus signal transmitted by the notebook PC 100.
The docking station 200 comprises a relatively thick main body in which electric circuits are incorporated, with thin mounting portion by which the notebook PC 100 is mounted at the front of the main body. A connector, 101, for joining the docking connector (previously described) to the rear face of the notebook PC 100 is provided at the front of the main body. A cover that can be opened and closed may be provided on the surface of the docking connector to protect it from a mechanical impact when the docking station is not used. A pair of linear protrusions, 102 and 103, along which the notebook PC 100 is guided in the attachment direction, may be formed on either side edge of the mounting portion.
The functions and the structure of a docking station are already disclosed in Japanese Patent Applications No. Hei 05-181593 (U.S. Ser. No. 08/276,231, filed Jul. 18, 1994 and now abandoned) and No. Hei 06-134124 (U.S. Ser. No. 08/416,398 filed Apr. 6, 1995), both of which were assigned to the present assignee.
The employment styles for the docking station can be classified as a xe2x80x9csingle user modexe2x80x9d and a xe2x80x9cmulti-user mode.xe2x80x9d In the single user mode, only one PC user employs the docking station. In other words, only one specific notebook PC is mounted on a docking station. In the multi-user mode, a plurality of PC users employ the docking station in common. In the multi-user mode, therefore, the notebook PCs of a number of individual users may alternately be mounted on one docking station.
Security of Notebook PC
While various electronic apparatuses are made compact and light and thus are easy to carry, an unwanted side effect of this is that thefts of the apparatuses have increased. Notebook PCs especially tend to be stolen because their processing capability has been improved and also because notebook PCs have become popular. Peripheral devices that are detachably connected to a PC may also be stolen. For example, since a PC card is a cartridge type and is only as small as a business card, it can easily be stolen. A removable hard disk drive, HDD, may also be stolen because of the data it holds. Therefore, today, the emphasis is on improving office security, i.e., instituting countermeasures to prevent the theft of electronic apparatuses.
The theft of a notebook PC can be easily prevented by employing a so-called xe2x80x9ckensington lock.xe2x80x9d The kensington lock, 105 and 107, is used to inhibit the removal of a notebook PC from a predetermined location by one end of the lock""s main body being fixed to an external wall of the case of the notebook PC (e.g., in FIG. 12, the side of the case shown in (a) or the rear face in (b)), and by securing the cable that extends from the lock""s main body at a specific location in an office (e.g., the leg of a desk). The kensington lock is an optional component that is sold separately from the notebook PC. A kensington lock sold by Kensington Microware Limited can be employed.
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the assembly of the kensington lock. The kensington lock is constituted by a housing wherein a spindle is rotatably provided.
The spindle has a first portion retained in the housing, and a T-shaped shaft that is fixed to the first portion and projects outward from the housing. The length of the leg of the T-shaped shaft, which projects outward from the housing, almost equals the thickness of the external wall of the case of the notebook PC (see FIGS. 14(a) and 15(a)). The outer size of the head of the T-shaped shaft almost equals the inner dimensions of a kensington slot formed in the external wall of the notebook PC (see FIGS. 13(c) and (d), and FIG. 14(b)). A pair of raised contact members are formed at the end of the housing to sandwich the leg of the shaft. The size in cross section of an assembly of the pair of contact members and the leg of the T-shaped shaft almost equals the inner dimensions of the kensington slot formed in the external wall of the notebook PC (see FIGS. 13(c) and (e)). The kensington lock can be inserted into the kensington slot at the shaft rotation position where the head of the T-shaped shaft overlaps the contact members.
A key hole (not shown in FIG. 13) is formed in the other end (the reverse face of the housing) of the spindle. A key that has engaged the key hole can be rotated, together with the spindle, i.e, the T-shaped shaft, through an angle of 90xc2x0. Therefore, by superimposing the head of the T-shaped shaft on the outline of the contact members, this assembly can be inserted into the kensington slot (see FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b)). After the kensington lock is inserted into the kensington slot, the key, 116, fitted in the key hole is rotated 90xc2x0 to inhibit removal of the kensington lock from the kensington slot (see FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b)). In this condition, the key is extracted from the key hole, so that the spindle, i.e., the T-shaped shaft can not be rotated, and the kensington lock is secured to the external wall of the PC. A tab accepting one end of a cable, 114, is provided on the side of the housing. The other end of the cable (not shown) is secured at a specified location in an office (e.g., to the leg of a desk), so that the PC to which the kensington lock is attached can not be carried away.
The details of the kensington lock are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,685 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 06-511297).
Security of Docking Station
There are two primary purposes of providing security for the docking station. The first purpose is the security of the docking station itself, and the second purpose is the security of a notebook PC mounted on the docking station. For the first purpose, security can be easily implemented by securing the kensington lock to the main body of the docking station, as well as to the main body of the notebook PC.
For the second purpose, security is not so easily achieved because the docking station has two different use styles, the single user mode and the multi-user mode, and the applicable security policy differs for each mode. In the single user mode, the security for both the docking station and the mounted notebook PC is required, and both apparatuses should be secured at a predetermined location in the office. In the multi-user mode, although the docking station has to be secured at a predetermined location in the office, a notebook PC should not be secured to the docking station, else shared use of the docking station by other uses would not be possible.
A port replicator (Product Model ID No. 46H4219), which is designed and produced by IBM Corp. for the notebook computer xe2x80x9cIBM ThinkPad560 (xe2x80x9cThinkPadxe2x80x9d is a trademark of IBM Corp.) sold by IBM Japan, Ltd., interacts with the insertion of the kensington lock into the kensington slot and restricts the operation of the ejection mechanism for the notebook PC. In short, the notebook PC and the port replicator are integrally locked. The security mechanism is specifically designed for use in a single user mode.
Docking station xe2x80x9cDock,/SelectaDock,xe2x80x9d which is designed and produced by IBM Corp. for the notebook PC xe2x80x9cIBM ThinkPad760xe2x80x9d sold by IBM Japan, Ltd., includes a kensington slot for securing the docking station, and a PC locking mechanism for securing a notebook PC to the docking station. The kensington lock and the PC locking mechanism can be operated by individual keys, and the locking mechanism does not interact with the attachment of the kensington lock. In this case, since a user can separately select the use for the kensington lock and the locking of the notebook PC, a difference between the security policies for the single user mode and the multi-user mode can be absorbed. However, a user must be accountable for two different keys and bear more responsibility for security.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Hei 06-124141 and No. Hei 07-104884, prevention of the theft of an expansion unit is the stated purpose and a technique for locking a notebook PC to the expansion unit is disclosed. These publications merely provide for the notebook PC to be secured to the expansion unit for stable employment, and do not take into consideration the use of the expansion unit when switching between the single user mode and the multi-user mode is performed.
Recently, as was previously described, a notebook PC and a docking station have a PC card slot for inserting a PC card. Since plug-and-play is the standard specification for the PC card, a cartridge form factor is used with which attachment and removal is easy, and accordingly, PC card theft is easy. The prevention of PC card theft from a notebook PC is recited in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 05-182972 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 07-44269: our docket No. JA9-93-030), which was assigned to the present inventor. According to this specification, a curved engagement piece is attached near a PC card exchange opening in the PC main body to prevent the removal of a PC card.
Since, basically, a PC card inserted into a notebook PC is owned by a user of a notebook PC, no problem will arise even if a PC card security mechanism interacts with the security mechanism for the main body of the notebook PC. This is rather convenient for the user. In actuality, however, when a PC card is inserted in the docking station, no determination is made as to whether it is owned by a single user or by multiple users, and the security policy varies in each case. Therefore, the security for a PC card is accompanied by the same problems as is the security for the docking station. If the PC card security mechanism is specifically designed for either a single user mode or a multi-user mode, the security of one of them can not be ensured. In addition, if a special locking mechanism is provided for each mode, the operation will become complex.
Docking station xe2x80x9cDock,/SelectaDockxe2x80x9d (previously described), which is produced by IBM Corp. for the notebook PC xe2x80x9cIBM ThinkPad760xe2x80x9d sold by IBM Japan Ltd., has PC card slots, and permits the separate locking of PC card slots in the notebook PC and in the docking station, so that the difference between the security policies for the single user mode and the multi-user mode can be absorbed. As is described above, however, it is required that two security mechanisms be used, so that a user must be accountable for two different keys.
The prevention of the theft of a PC card from an expansion unit is not cited in previously described Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Hei 06-124141 and No. Hei 07-104884.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a superior docking unit for a portable computer that can effectively prevent the theft of the main body of the docking unit and a portable computer mounted thereon.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a superior docking unit for a portable computer that can provide adequate theft prevention environments for both a xe2x80x9csingle user modexe2x80x9d, during which the docking unit is used by only one user, and a xe2x80x9cmulti-user modexe2x80x9d, during which the docking unit is shared by a plurality of users.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a superior docking unit for a portable computer that can adequately prevent the theft of a portable computer mounted on the docking unit, which is either in a xe2x80x9csingle user modexe2x80x9d during which the docking unit is used by only one user or a xe2x80x9cmulti-user modexe2x80x9d during which the docking unit is shared by a plurality of users.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a superior docking unit for a portable computer that permits the exchange of a portable computer mounted thereon, while ensuring the security of the docking unit and a PC card.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a superior docking unit for a portable computer that can adequately prevent the theft of a PC card in both a xe2x80x9csingle user modexe2x80x9d during which the docking unit is used by only one user, and a xe2x80x9cmulti-user modexe2x80x9d during which the docking unit is shared by a plurality of users.
To achieve the above objects, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a first locking portion provided on the outer wall of the main body; (d) a second locking portion provided on the outer wall of the main body; (e) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; and (f) engaging control means for controlling the engaging means from being released in response to a condition where a locking member, for securing the docking unit to a desired surrounding object, is loaded either at the first locking portion or at the second locking portion.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (d) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (e) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; and (f) engaging control means for controlling the engaging means from being released in response to whether a kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot or the second kensington slot.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (d) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (e) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; and (f) engaging control means for inhibiting the engaging means from being released when a kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot, and for not inhibiting the engaging means from being released when the kensington lock is inserted into the second kensington slot.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a PC card slot provided in the main body for inserting a PC card; (d) ejecting means provided for the PC card slot for ejecting an inserted PC card; (e) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (f) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (g) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; and (h) engaging control means for inhibiting both activation of the ejecting means and release of the engaging means when a kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot, and for inhibiting activation of the ejecting means but not inhibiting release of the engaging means when the kensington lock is inserted into the second kensington slot.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (d) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (e) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; (f) engaging release means for releasing the portable computer from an engaging with the engaging means; and (g) notification means for inhibiting release of an engaging by notifying the engaging release means that a kensington lock has been inserted into the first kensington slot, and for not notifying the engaging release means that the kensington lock has been inserted into the second kensington slot.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a PC card slot provided in the main body for inserting a PC card; (d) restricting means formed at the ejection opening of the PC card slot to restrict the exchange of a PC card; (e) a first locking portion provided on the outer wall of the main body; (f) a second locking portion provided on the outer wall of the main body; (g) restricting release means for releasing a restriction of the exchange of a PC card imposed by the restricting means; and (h) means for maintaining a restriction condition of the exchange of a PC card in response to whether a locking member, for securing the docking unit to a desired peripheral object, is attached to the first locking portion or the second locking portion.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a PC card slot provided in the main body for inserting a PC card; (d) restricting means formed at the ejection opening of the PC card slot to restrict the exchange of a PC card; (e) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (f) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (g) restricting release means for releasing a restriction of the exchange of a PC card imposed by the restricting means; and (h) notification means for notifying the restricting release means whether a kensington lock has been inserted into the first or the second kensington slot, in order to maintain the restriction condition of the exchange of a PC card.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a PC card slot provided in the main body for inserting a PC card; (d) restricting means formed at the ejection opening of the PC card slot to restrict the exchange of a PC card; (e) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body, (f) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (g) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; (h) engaging release means for releasing the portable computer from an engaging with the engaging means; (i) restricting release means for releasing a restriction of the exchange of a PC card imposed by the restricting means; (j) first notification means for inhibiting release of an engagement by notifying the engaging release means that a kensington lock has been inserted into the first kensington slot, and for not notifying the engaging release means that the kensington lock has been inserted into the second kensington slot; and (k) second notification means for maintaining restriction of the exchange of a PC card by notifying the restricting release means that the kensington lock has been inserted into either the first or the second kensington slot.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a PC card slot provided in the main body for inserting a PC card; (d) ejecting means provided for the PC card slot for ejecting an inserted PC card; (e) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (f) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (g) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; and (h) engaging control means for inhibiting both an ejection of the ejecting means and release of the engaging means when a kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot, and for not inhibiting neither an ejection of the ejecting means nor release of the engaging means even though the kensington lock is inserted into the second kensington slot.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a PC card slot provided in the main body for inserting a PC card; (d) restricting means formed at the ejection opening of the PC card slot to restrict the exchange of a PC card; (e) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (f) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (g) restricting release means for releasing a restriction of the exchange of a PC card imposed by the restricting means; and (h) notification means for inhibiting release of a restriction by notifying the restricting release means that a kensington lock has been inserted into the first kensington slot, and for not notifying the restricting release means that the kensington lock has been inserted into the second kensington slot.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion for mounting a portable computer; (c) a PC card slot provided in the main body for inserting a PC card; (d) restricting means formed at the ejection opening of the PC card slot to restrict the exchange of a PC card; (e) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (f) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (g) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; (h) engaging release means for releasing the portable computer from engaging with the engaging means; (i) restricting release means for releasing a restriction of the exchange of a PC card imposed by the restricting means; (j) first notification means for inhibiting release of an engagement by notifying the engaging release means that a kensington lock has been inserted into the first kensington slot, and for not notifying the engaging release means that the kensington lock has been inserted into the second kensington slot; and (k) second notification means for inhibiting release of an engagement by notifying the engaging release means that a kensington lock has been inserted into the first kensington slot, and for not notifying the engaging release means that the kensington lock has been inserted into the second kensington slot.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, a portable electronic apparatus comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a first locking portion provided on the outer wall of the main body; (c) a second locking portion provided on the outer wall of the main body; (d) first theft prevention means for setting the main body to a first security mode when a locking member, for locking the main body to a desired peripheral object, is inserted into the first locking portion; and (e) second theft prevention means for setting the main body to a second security mode which differs from the first security mode, when the locking member is inserted into the second locking portion.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a portable electronic apparatus comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a first kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (c) a second kensington slot provided on the outer wall of the main body; (d) first theft prevention means for setting the main body to a first security mode when a kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot; and (e) second theft prevention means for setting the main body to a second security mode being different from the first security mode, when the kensington lock is inserted into the second kensington slot.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, a docking unit for mounting a portable computer comprises: (a) a main body; (b) a mounting portion, for mounting a portable computer thereon; (c) a docking connector provided at an elevated location on the mounting portion for an electrical connection with the portable computer on the mounting portion; (d) engaging means for engaging with the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion; (e) ejecting means, provided on the mounting portion, that can be vertically projected and retracted, and that is vertically projected and raises the portable computer mounted on the mounting portion, so that the portable computer can be removed from the docking connector; (f) ejecting instruction means used by a user to instruct ejection of the mounted portable computer; (g) notification means for, in response to a user""s operation of the ejecting instruction means, releasing the engaging means and extending the ejecting means upward; and (h) retracting prevention means for, even after the user has operated the ejecting instruction means, preventing the ejecting means when elevated from descending and being retracted into the mounting portion.
In a docking unit for a portable computer according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, for preventing retraction, sufficient driving force shall be provided for the restricting prevention means to counter the portable computer""s weight. A docking unit for a portable computer according to the present invention has the first and the second kensington slots positioned on the outer wall of the main body.
When the kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot, this event is transmitted to inhibit the release of the engaging of the mounted portable computer, and to unenable its removal. But when the kensington lock is inserted into the second kensington slot, this event is not transmitted, so that the mounted portable computer can be removed. Therefore, in the single user mode, when the kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot, the portable computer and the docking unit can be secured together. In the multi-user mode, when the kensington lock is inserted into the second kensington slot, only the docking unit is secured, and the attachment and removal of the portable computer is ensured. In other words, the docking unit for a portable computer of the present invention can absorb the differences in the security policies for the single user mode and the multi-user mode.
In the docking unit according to the fourth, seventh and eighth aspects, when the kensington lock is inserted into either the first or the second kensington slots, this event is transmitted to restrict the exchange of a PC card relative to the docking unit. Not only the main body of the docking unit and the mounted notebook PC, but also the PC card are locked, so that the theft of PC cards can be prevented.
In the docking unit according to the ninth, tenth and eleventh aspects, when the kensington lock is inserted into the first kensington slot, this event is transmitted to restrict the exchange of a PC card relative to the docking unit. When the kensington lock is inserted into the second kensington slot, this event is not transmitted, and the restriction concerning the exchange of the PC card relative to the docking unit is freely released. Therefore, in the single user mode, the exchange of the PC card relative to the docking unit is inhibited by inserting the kensington lock into the first kensington slot, and theft of both the PC card and the docking unit can be prevented. But in the multi-user mode, the exchange of a PC card relative to the docking unit is ensured by the insertion of the kensington lock into the second kensington slot, and PC cards can be exchanged by the individual users.
That is, according to the docking unit of the present invention, environments that provide adequate safeguards for the prevention of theft are provided for the xe2x80x9csingle user modexe2x80x9d, in which the docking unit is used by only one user, and the xe2x80x9cmulti-user modexe2x80x9d, in which the docking unit is shared by a plurality of users. Further, the docking unit of the present invention can handle the respective security policies for PC cards that differ for the single user mode and for the multi-user mode.
With the docking unit for a portable computer of the present invention, the theft of PC cards can be effectively prevented in the environment for the xe2x80x9csingle user modexe2x80x9d, in which the docking unit is employed by only a single user and in that for the xe2x80x9cmulti-user modexe2x80x9d, in which the docking unit is employed by a plurality of users.
In the docking unit according to the fourteenth aspect, there is little chance that the notebook PC that is ejected upward will be dropped and that the connectors will come into contact. Thus, the chattering that accompanies the contact of the connectors and the damage to data that is due to the chattering can be prevented.